Systems and methods for automatic configuration of a remote control device

ABSTRACT

A remote control device establishes a bi-directional communication with a television receiver and uploads a set of remote control codes associated with a target component selected by the user. One method includes storing, within a television receiver, a set of remote control codes associated with a corresponding set of component types; presenting a component-selection user interface; receiving a target component type selected from the set of component types presented by the component-selection user interface; determining, from the set of remote control codes, a target remote control code associated with the target component type; and transmitting the target remote control code to the remote control device.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to the control of televisionreceiver devices, and more particularly relates to systems and methodsfor providing and configuring remote control device for use with suchtelevision receiver devices.

BACKGROUND

Most television viewers now receive their television signals through acontent aggregator such as a cable or satellite television provider. Forsubscribers to a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service, for example,television programming is received via a broadcast that is sent via asatellite to an antenna that is generally located on the exterior of ahome or other structure. Other customers receive television programmingthrough conventional television broadcasts, or through cable, wirelessor other media. Programming is typically received at a receiver such asa “set top box” (STB) or other receiver that demodulates the receivedsignals and converts the demodulated content into a format that can bepresented to the viewer on a television or other display. In addition toreceiving and demodulating television programming, many televisionreceivers are able to provide additional features. Examples of featuresavailable in many modern television receivers include electronic programguides (EPGs), digital or other personal video recorders,“place-shifting” features for streaming received content over a networkor other medium, providing customer service information and/or the like.

Generally speaking, viewers interact with the STB or other receiverusing some sort of user interface that receives inputs from a remotecontrol or other input device. To change a channel, for example, theviewer typically depresses a “channel up/down” button, manually enters anumber of a desired channel on a numeric keypad, and/or selects the newchannel using a program guide feature of the receiver. The receiver thenprocesses received viewer input to make desired changes to the on-screendisplay.

It is not unusual for a viewer's home entertainment system to includeany number of different components produced by a variety ofmanufacturers. As a result, it is a non-trivial process to program orconfigure a remote control device to interact with each of thecomponents within a system. Typically, this configuration processinvolves the user entering a complex series of keystrokes into theremote control device based on an often-incomplete set of codes providedin a printed manual.

Accordingly, it is therefore desirable to provide systems and methodsfor configuring a remote control device in a way that is simple andconvenient for the user. These and other desirable features andcharacteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detaileddescription and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and this background section.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to various exemplary embodiments, systems and methods areprovided for automatically configuring a remote control device bydetermining, through an appropriate data communication channel, theidentity and/or type of a particular component, then transmitting theappropriate remote control code or codes to a remote control deviceusing bi-directional communication between the television receiver andthe remote control device.

In accordance with one embodiment, a method for configuring a remotecontrol device includes storing, within a television receiver, a set ofremote control codes associated with a corresponding set of componenttypes; determining that a target component is capable of communicatingan identification signal associated with its component type; receivingthe identification signal; determining a target component type based onthe identification signal; determining, from the set of remote controlcodes, a target remote control code associated with the target componenttype; and transmitting the target remote control code to the remotecontrol device.

In accordance with further embodiments, the target remote control codeis transmitted via a bi-directional data communication link (e.g., aZigBee link) established between the remote control device and thetelevision receiver.

Various other embodiments, aspects and other features are described inmore detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote likeelements, and

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary television receiver system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary television receiver device;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary remote control device; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an exemplary process for configuring theremote control device of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the invention is merely exemplaryin nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the applicationand uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to bebound by any theory presented in the preceding background or thefollowing detailed description.

Generally speaking, a television receiver is configured to automaticallydetermine the brand, model number, etc. (generally, the “type”) of acomponent through communication with that component (e.g., via aHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface), determines theappropriate remote control code associated with that component typebased on a look-up table or other database, then transmit the remotecontrol code or codes to a remote control device through a wireless(e.g., ZigBee) connection.

Although the various techniques and systems described herein may be usedwith any sort of remote control or command equipment, variousembodiments may be particularly well suited for use with a remotecontrol that includes a touchpad, scrollbar, rocker switch, scroll ringand/or other touch-sensitive input device.

Turning now to the drawing figures and with initial reference to FIG. 1,an exemplary system 100 for presenting television signals to a viewersuitably includes a receiver 108 that receives signals 105 in any formatand generates appropriate outputs 107 to generate imagery 110 on display102. Typically, receiver 108 interacts with signals 125 received from awireless remote control 112 to present television imagery 110 on display102 as desired by the viewer. In the exemplary view shown in FIG. 1,imagery 110 has a superimposed program guide window 122 that provideselectronic program guide (EPG) information about the currently-viewedprogram. To change the channel, a viewer typically uses an input feature(e.g., a touchpad, rocker switch or the like) on a remote control 112 toscroll the information displayed in window 122 until information aboutthe desired program is presented. Receiver 108 then tunes the selectedprogram as desired.

Receiver 108 is any component, device or logic capable of receiving anddecoding video signals 105. In various embodiments, receiver 108 is aset-top box (STB) or the like capable of receiving satellite, cable,broadcast and/or other signals encoding audio/visual content. Receiver108 may further demodulate or otherwise decode the received signals 105to extract programming that can be locally viewed on display 102 asdesired. Receiver 108 may also include a content database stored on ahard disk drive, memory, or other storage medium to support a digital orother personal video recorder (DVR/PVR) feature as appropriate. Receiver108 may also provide place shifting, electronic program guide,multi-stream viewing and/or other features as appropriate.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, receiver 108 is shownreceiving digital broadcast satellite (DBS) signals 105 from a satellite106 at an antenna 104. Equivalent embodiments, however, could receiveprogramming 105 from one or more programming sources, including any sortof satellite, cable or broadcast source, as well as any Internet orother network source or the like. In embodiments that include DVRfunctionality, programming may be stored in any sort of database asdesired (e.g., in response to user/viewer programming instructions) forsubsequent viewing. Content may also be received from digital versatiledisks (DVDs) or other removable media in some embodiments.

Display 102 is any device capable of presenting imagery to a viewer. Invarious embodiments, display 102 is a conventional television set, suchas any sort of television operating in accordance with any digital oranalog protocols, standards or other formats. Display 102 may be aconventional NTSC or PAL television receiver, for example. In otherembodiments, display 102 is a monitor or other device that may notinclude built-in receiver functionality, but that is neverthelesscapable of presenting imagery in response to signal 107 received fromreceiver 108. In various embodiments, receiver 108 and display 102 maybe physically combined or interconnected in any manner. A receiver card,for example, could be inserted into a slot or other interface in aconventional television, or the functionality of receiver 108 may beprovided within a conventional television display 102. In otherembodiments, signals 107 are transferred between receiver 108 anddisplay 102 using any sort of cable or other interface (including awireless interface). Examples of common interfaces include, withoutlimitation, component video, S-video, High-Definition MultimediaInterface (HDMI), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), IEEE 1394, and/or anyother formats as desired.

Remote control 112 is any sort of control device capable providingsignals 125 to receiver 108 that represent inputs received from one ormore viewers. Typically, remote control 112 is an infrared, radiofrequency (RF) or other wireless remote that includes any number ofbuttons or other features for receiving viewer inputs. In an exemplaryembodiment, remote control 112 communicates with receiver 108 using theIEEE 802.15.4 (“ZIGBEE”) protocol for wireless personal area networks(WPANs), although other embodiments may instead communicate using IEEE802.15.1 (“BLUETOOTH”), IEEE 802.11 (“WI-FI”), conventional infrared,and/or any other wireless techniques. As will be discussed in furtherdetail below, Remote control 112 is preferably configured to establish abi-directional (two-way) communication link with receiver 108 for thepurposes of uploading remote control codes.

Remote control 112 generally includes various buttons, sliders, rockerswitches and/or other features for receiving physical inputs from theviewer. As the user depresses or otherwise interacts with the features,remote control 112 suitably produces wireless signals 125 in response.In further embodiments, remote control 112 includes a two-dimensionalinput device 124 that is able to receive inputs from the user in anymulti-dimensional format (e.g, “X,Y”, “r,Θ)”, and/or the like). Examplesof two-dimensional input devices 124 that could be used in variousembodiments include, without limitation, touchpads, directional pads,joysticks, trackballs, sets of arrows or other buttons, and/or the like.In a typical implementation, two-dimensional input device 124 providescoordinates or other signals 125 that indicate absolute (e.g, “X,Y”)and/or relative (e.g., “ΔX, ΔY”) movement in two or more dimensions.Such signals 125 may be decoded at controller 108 or elsewhere tocoordinate the viewer's actions with respect to input device 124 tomovement of cursor 114 or other features presented on display 102.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, remote control 112 isillustrated with a touchpad-type device 124 that accepts viewer inputsapplied with a finger, stylus or other object. FIG. 1 also showstouchpad device 124 as having dedicated scroll regions 123 and 128 forvertical and horizontal scrolling, respectively. Viewer movements withinregion 122 that are more-or-less parallel to the right edge of device124, for example, could result in vertical scrolling, whereas movementswithin region 128 that are more-or-less parallel to the bottom edge ofdevice 124 could result in horizontal scrolling. Dedicated scrollingregions 122, 128 are optional features, however, that may not be presentin all embodiments. Further, scrolling could be implemented in any othermanner. As noted above, it may be particularly beneficial to provide asmooth scrolling image to the viewer in response to inputs received on atouch sensitive device 124, although other features may benefit fromimproved scrolling as well.

In operation, then, receiver 108 suitably receives television signals105 from a satellite, cable, broadcast or other source. In a satellitebased embodiment, for example, one or more channels can be extractedfrom a conventional satellite feed; the video content on the selectedchannel can be demodulated, extracted and otherwise processed asappropriate to display the desired content to the viewer. One or morecable or broadcast channels may be similarly obtained in any manner. Insome embodiments, receiver 108 may obtain multiple channel signals fromdifferent sources (e.g., one channel from a cable or satellite sourceand another channel from a terrestrial broadcast, DVD or other source).

Receiver 108 suitably obtains the desired content from the channel(s)indicated by the viewer, and presents the content on display 102. Invarious embodiments, channel changing is facilitates by presentingprogram guide window 122 superimposed upon (e.g., presented in a smallerwindow within) the imagery 110 obtained from the primary channel.

The viewer is able to interact with program guide window 122 in anymanner. In various embodiments, the viewer is able to scroll theinformation contained within window 122 using remote control 112. Thescrolling provided may be relatively smooth (e.g., providing a gradualprogression of information across the window 122, as opposed to simplyjumping through program guide entries) so that the viewer is able tobetter appreciate the “feel” and level of control provided by ascrolling input on remote 112. In some embodiments, program guide window122 could be presented with a scroll bar or other feature that wouldgraphically represent the location of the information presented inwindow 122 within the overall program guide. Other embodiments maycontain additional features or enhancements of any sort.

FIG. 2 provides additional detail regarding an exemplary receiver 108that includes a receiver interface 208, a decoder 214 and a displayprocessor 218, as appropriate. FIG. 2 also shows a disk controllerinterface 206 to a disk or other storage device 220, an interface 210 toa local or wide area network, a transport select module 212, a displayinterface 228, an RF receiver module and control logic 205. Otherembodiments may incorporate additional or alternate processing modulesfrom those shown in FIG. 2, may omit one or more modules shown in FIG.2, and/or may differently organize the various modules in any othermanner different from the exemplary arrangement shown in FIG. 2.

Receiver 108 may be physically and logically implemented in any manner.FIG. 2 shows various logical and functional features that may be presentin an exemplary device; each module shown in the figure may beimplemented with any sort of hardware, software, firmware and/or thelike. Any of the various modules may be implemented with any sort ofgeneral or special purpose integrated circuitry, for example, such asany sort of microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor,programmed array and/or the like. Any number of the modules shown inFIG. 2, for example, may be implemented as a “system on a chip” (SoC)using any suitable processing circuitry under control of any appropriatecontrol logic 205. In various embodiments, control logic 205 executeswithin an integrated SoC or other processor that implements receiverinterface 208, transport selector 212, decoder 214, display processor218, disk controller 206 and/or other features, as appropriate. TheBroadcom Corporation of Irvine, Calif., for example, produces severalmodels of processors (e.g., the model BCM 7400 family of processors)that are capable of supporting SoC implementations of satellite and/orcable receiver systems, although products from any number of othersuppliers could be equivalently used. In still other embodiments,various distinct chips, circuits or components may be inter-connectedand inter-relate with each other to implement the receiving and decodingfunctions represented in FIG. 2.

Various embodiments of receiver 108 therefore include any number ofappropriate modules for obtaining and processing media content asdesired for the particular embodiment. Each of these modules may beimplemented in any combination of hardware and/or software using logicexecuted within any number of semiconductor chips or other processinglogic.

Various embodiments of control logic 205 can include any circuitry,components, hardware, software and/or firmware logic capable ofcontrolling the various components of receiver 108. Various routines,methods and processes executed within receiver 108 are typically carriedout under control of control logic 205, as described more fully below.Generally speaking, control logic 205 receives user input signals 125(FIG. 1) via an RF receiver interface 232 that is able to communicatewith the remote control 112 using a suitable antenna 234. Control logicreceives user inputs from remote control 112 and/or any other source,and directs the other components of receiver 108 in response to thereceived inputs to present the desired imagery on display 102.

As noted above, receiver 108 suitably includes a receiver interface 208,which is any hardware, software, firmware and/or other logic capable ofreceiving media content via one or more content sources 105. In variousembodiments, content sources 105 may include cable television, DBS,broadcast and/or other programming sources as appropriate. Receiverinterface 208 appropriately selects a desired input source and providesthe received content to an appropriate destination for furtherprocessing. In various embodiments, received programming may be providedin real-time (or near real-time) to a transport stream select module 212or other component for immediate decoding and presentation to the user.Alternatively, receiver interface 208 may provide content received fromany source to a disk or other storage medium in embodiments that provideDVR functionality. In such embodiments, receiver 108 may also include adisk controller module 206 that interacts with an internal or externalhard disk, memory and/or other device that stores content in a database110, as described above.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, receiver 108 also includes anappropriate network interface 210, which operates using anyimplementation of protocols or other features to support communicationby receiver 108 on any sort of local area, wide area, telephone and/orother network. In various embodiments, network interface 210 supportsconventional LAN, WAN or other protocols (e.g., the TCP/IP or UDP/IPsuite of protocols widely used on the Internet) to allow receiver 108 tocommunicate on the Internet or any other network as desired. Networkinterface 210 typically interfaces with the network using any sort ofLAN adapter hardware, such as a conventional network interface card(NIC) or the like provided within receiver 108. Other embodiments mayprovide interfaces 210 to conventional telephone lines or othercommunications channels, or may omit network connectivity altogether.

Storage device 220 is any sort of disk, memory or other digital storagemedia capable of storing programming, software instructions, data and/orother digital content as desired. In various embodiments, storage device220 is capable of storing digitized program information as part of aPVR/DVR implementation. Storage device 220 may also include a database,look-up table, or other code file 211 comprising a set of remote controlcodes associated with various components. This file may be provided withthe initial configuration of the receiver 108, for example, and/or maybe updated in any manner. In various embodiments, file 211 is updated onany regular or irregular basis from a remote server communicating withreceiver 108 via the programming signal 115 (e.g., the satellite, cableor other downlink signal), via a connection to the internet or anothernetwork, or via any other connection as desired. Although FIG. 2 showsfile 211 as being stored on device 220, in practice file 211 may bestored in RAM, ROM, flash memory or other storage that is separate fromDVR/PVR programming.

Transport stream select module 212 is any hardware and/or software logiccapable of selecting a desired media stream from the available sources.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, stream select module 212 is able togenerate video signals for presentation on one or more output interfaces228. Typically, transport select module 212 responds to viewer inputs(e.g., via control logic 205) to simply switch encoded content receivedfrom a broadcast, satellite, cable or other source 105 or from storage110 to one or more decoder modules 214.

Receiver 108 may include any number of decoder modules 214 for decoding,decompressing and/or otherwise processing received/stored content asdesired. Generally speaking, decoder module 214 decompresses, decodesand/or otherwise processes received content from stream select module212 to extract an MPEG or other media stream encoded within the stream.The decoded content can then be processed by one or more displayprocessor modules 218 to create a presentation on display 102 (FIG. 1)for the viewer in any appropriate format. FIG. 2 shows a single decodermodule 214 operating on one television signal received from transportselect module 212. In practice, any number of decoder modules 214 may beused, particularly in PIP settings where multiple signals aresimultaneously decoded and displayed. The term “decoder”, then, maycollectively apply to one or more decoder modules that are able todecode one or more signals for presentation on display 104.

Receiver 108 is configured to determine whether a component attachedthereto is “autodetectable”—i.e., capable of communicating anidentification signal associated with its product type. In oneembodiment, receiver 108 is configured to communicate with one or moreconnected components through a High-Definition Multimedia Interface(HDMI) interface, e.g., the HDMI 1.3 standard, hereby incorporated byreference. Receiver 108 is further configured to poll, interrogate, orotherwise conform to a protocol with autodetectable components toreceive the appropriate identification signal.

Display processor module 218 includes any appropriate hardware, softwareand/or other logic to create desired screen displays via displayinterface 228 as desired. Such displays may include combining signalsreceived from one or more decoder modules 214 to facilitate viewing ofone or more channels. In various embodiments, display processing module218 is also able to produce on screen displays (OSDs) for electronicprogram guide, setup and control, input/output facilitation and/or otherfeatures that may vary from embodiment to embodiment. Such displays arenot typically contained within the received or stored broadcast stream,but are nevertheless useful to users in interacting with receiver 108 orthe like. The generated displays, including received/stored content andany other displays may then be presented to one or more outputinterfaces 228 in any desired format. The various interface featuresdescribed herein, for example, may be generated by display processormodule 218 operating alone or in conjunction with control logic 205.

Display processor 218 produces an output signal encoded in any standardformat (e.g., ITU656 format for standard definition television signalsor any format for high definition television signals) that can bereadily converted to standard and/or high definition television signalsat interface 228. In other embodiments, the functionality of displayprocessor 218 and interface 228 may be combined in any manner.

FIG. 3 shows a conceptual block diagram of an exemplary remote controldevice 112. In general, device 112 includes a controller 302, atransceiver module 308, an antenna 306, input/output (I/O) components312, and a memory 304.

Controller 302 may include any combination of circuitry, components,hardware, software and/or firmware logic capable of controlling thevarious components of remote control device 112 as described below. Inone embodiment, for example, controller 302 is a standardmicrocontroller of the type well known in the art.

Memory 304—e.g., any of the various fixed or removeable non-volatilememory device—is configured to store one or more look-up tables or othersuch files 304 capable of storing remote control codes or other indicianecessary to control particular components (e.g., receiver 108). File304 may or may not have the same content and format as file 211 instorage 110 of receiver 108.

Transceiver 308, which is coupled to controller 302 and antenna 306, isconfigured to establish a data communication channel with an externalcomponent such as receiver 108, as described in more detail below. Inone embodiment, transceiver 308 and controller 302 are collectivelyconfigured to establish a wireless data communication channel of thetype characterized by a mesh network—e.g., a ZigBee communicationchannel or the like.

User interface 312 collectively includes all the various buttons,touch-screens, keyboards, sliders, scroll-wheels, displays, and othersuch hardware and software used to allow a user to interact with remotecontrol device 112. In one embodiment, for example, user interface 312includes, among other things, two-dimensional touchpad-type device 124and scroll regions 123 and 128.

FIG. 4 depicts a method for configuring a remote control device inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment. In this regard, the steps shownin FIG. 4 may be executed using source or object code in any format thatmay be stored in mass storage, firmware, memory or any other digitalstorage medium within receiver 108 and/or remote control device 112.Such code may be executed by any module or combination of modules withineach component.

Initially, a set-up procedure or other such software module isinitialized, either by the user (for example, by pressing a button orotherwise interacting with user interface 312), or by another componentpursuant to a set-up or initialization procedure. That is, it may beadvantageous for receiver 108 and/or remote control device 112 toinitiate a set-up procedure by default upon first being activated orpowered-up.

Accordingly, in step 402, controller 205 of television receiver 108 actsin conjunction with software code stored within storage 220 to determinewhether and to what extent “autodetectable” components are connected orotherwise in communication therewith. Autodetectable components arethose components capable of communicating an identification signalassociated with its component type.

In one embodiment, for example, television receiver 108 polls and/orqueries each of its HDMI connections for the existence of a connectedcomponent. In the event that a particular component connected via HDMIcannot be autodetected, display 102 may used to present an interactive,selectable list of component types—i.e., various brands and modelnumbers of television monitors, AV receivers, and the like—from whichthe user may select a target component.

In step 404, the system suitably receives the component type of one ormore of the autodetected components. This may be accomplished via aquery-response protocol, an open-loop transmission of an identificationsignal upon startup, or any other suitable method. In one embodiment,the component type is received in accordance with an HDMI standard.

Nest, the system retrieves the appropriate code or codes from file 211within storage 220 (step 406). That is, for example, if the systemautodetects a “Samsung Model 550T” television set, controller 205suitably interrogates file 211 for entries matching this particularcomponent type.

Next, in step 408, a bi-directional data communication connection isestablished between remote control device 112 and receiver 108. Thisconnection may take a variety of forms. In one embodiment, for example,the system establishes a wireless connection of the type configured toform a mesh network with other similarly situated devices. Moreparticularly, in one embodiment a connection in accordance with the IEEE802.15.4 (ZigBee) protocol is established between remote control device112 and receiver 108. As is known, such a connection is bi-directionaland asynchronous, and thus unlike traditional remote control schemesallows data to be transferred from receiver 108 to remote control device112.

After a suitable connection is established, the target remote controlcodes retrieved in step 406 are sent via the data communication channelto remote control device 112 (step 410). These codes are then stored(e.g., as file 310 within memory 304) for subsequent use by remotecontrol device 112 when remotely operating various components of thesystem.

After the code for a particular component has been received, the systemmay present the user with the option of configuring remote controldevice 112 for additional components (step 412). If the user chooses todo so, the system repeats the processing beginning at step 404. If not,the system exits the wizard and then enters a standard operational mode.

In accordance with further embodiments, remote control 112 may be usedto store additional data transmitted by receiver 108. Such additionaldata may include, for example, parental guide settings, a list ofreceived channels, a list of favorite channels, and any other availableinformation regarding configuration of a home entertainment system.

Accordingly, new systems and techniques for configuring a remote controldevice are described. Although the systems and features are oftendescribed herein as applying to changing a channel within a set top boxor television, equivalent embodiments could apply the same concepts tocontrol of audio devices or any other component of the type typicallyoperated by remote control.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein asexemplary is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other implementations.

While the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled inthe art with a convenient road map for implementing various embodimentsof the invention, it should be appreciated that the particularembodiments described above are only examples, and are not intended tolimit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in anyway. To the contrary, various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements described without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

1. A method for configuring a remote control device, the methodcomprising: storing, within a television receiver, a set of remotecontrol codes associated with a corresponding set of component types;determining that a target component is capable of communicating anidentification signal associated with its component type; receiving theidentification signal; determining a target component type based on theidentification signal; determining, from the set of remote controlcodes, a target remote control code associated with the target componenttype; transmitting the target remote control code to the remote controldevice.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving thesignal includes receiving a signal in accordance with a High DefinitionMultimedia Interface (HDMI) specification.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein transmitting the target remote control code includes:establishing a bi-directional data communication link between the remotecontrol device and the television receiver; transmitting the targetremote control code via the bi-directional data communication link. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the bi-directional data communicationlink includes a wireless protocol capable of forming a mesh network. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein the bi-directional data communicationlink is a ZigBee network connection.
 6. The method of claim 1, furtherincluding storing a plurality of the target remote control codes in theremote control device.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein selecting thetarget component type includes operation of the remote control device.8. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving the set of remotecontrol codes.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the set of remotecontrol codes is received via a network.
 10. The method of claim 8wherein the set of remote control codes is received via a programmingchannel.
 11. The method of claim 8 wherein the set of remote controlcodes is received via a satellite channel.
 12. A remote control devicecomprising: a controller; an RF transceiver coupled to the controller; amemory coupled to the controller; the controller and RF transceivercollectively configured to determine that a target component is capableof sending an identification signal indicative of its component type, toreceive the identification signal, to establish a bi-directionalconnection with a television receiver, to send a target remote controlassociated with the component type over the bi-directional connection,and to store the target remote control code in the memory.
 13. Theremote control device of claim 12, wherein the controller and RFtransceiver are configured to establish a ZigBee connection with thetelevision receiver.
 14. The remote control device of claim 12 whereinthe controller and RF transceiver are further configured to receive theidentification signal via a High-Definition Multimedia Interface.
 15. Atelevision receiver configured to provide imagery to a televisionmonitor, the television receiver comprising: a processor; a storage unitcoupled to the processor and configured to store a set of remote controlcodes associated with a plurality of component types; and a RFtransceiver coupled to the processor; wherein the processor, storageunit, and RF transceiver are collectively configured to automaticallydetermine the target component type of a target component attachedthereto, to determine a target remote control code corresponding to thetarget component type based on the set of remote control codes; and totransmit the target remote control code to a remote control device via abi-directional data communication link.
 16. The television receiver ofclaim 15, wherein the bi-directional data communication link comprises awireless mesh network connection.
 17. The television receiver of claim16, wherein the bi-directional data communication link comprises aZigBee connection.
 18. The television receiver of claim 15 furthercomprising a receiver interface configured to receive televisionprogramming signals and a decoder configured to decode the receivedtelevision programming signals.
 19. The television receiver of claim 18wherein the processor is further configured to automatically determinethe target component type via communication with the target component inaccordance with a High-Definition Multimedia Interface protocol.
 20. Thetelevision receiver of claim 19 wherein the receiver interface is asatellite interface.